Hey, I have a 97' Stratocster American Standard Its in good shape and has all the original pick ups ECT.

I wanted to know why, it seems like I have no clarity from my guitar, I strum chords and cant get a distinct tone from one chord to another, and even when I just play riffs, or a whole song, my whole sound just seems almost muffled.

This is my second guitar and Im not a beginer, but Im not sure If It is my pickups which need to be adjusted or what???
I tried this a while ago, and was not sure really how far they should be, but I found they sounded best fairly low.

I have a new Frontman 25 R, that I use with my strat.

So I was hoping you guys could give my some advice on, what I could do, or what the problem could be.

Thanks.

Welcome!

It could be SO many things from the string set you have on there to the guitar needing a complete overhaul. Sight unseen, it's even tougher. It's like saying to an auto mechanic, "My car makes funny noises, what's wrong with it?"

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You dig?

Define clarity?
If you mean your guitar sounds muddy it could be several things. As far as pick up height on a strat the factory recommends 5/64 on the bass side and 4/64 on the treble side with the string depressed at the last fret on the American Standard with stock pickups. (Measured from the bottom of the string to the top of the magnet.)

Every pup has a sweet spot where the string and the pup have the right balance between magnetic fields and sustain. You just have to experiment with it till you hear the sound you're looking for...

Hope this helps. You also might try Chet's nickel method... it works...Run a search on it in the Strat forum...

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I'm not slow... and I'm not fast... just sort of halffast...

By the way welcome to the forum...

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I'm not slow... and I'm not fast... just sort of halffast...

Try it in a different amp.

This is a long shot, but if you're using low grade and fairly long cables, try a shorter premium cable as a test.

Welcome to the forum. my stock answer is "get a proper set up" get it professionally done if you don't know how.

if the set up isn't maintained there are so many things that can go out of whack. Your axe is over 10 years old, so if it hasn't been set up in a while it probably just needs a bit of TLC. a few things might just be a little out of whack, or some might be by a lot, but even a couple things out by a little bit can add up.

Set ups are a great value. they are usually fairly cheap(or free , if you learn how to do it yourself--which I recommend,) but the benefits are immediate, and very noticeable. if you don't know how to do it, try get it done by a tech who will let you watch what he does, and then buy Dan Erlewine's book "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great!"

This will adjust everything from your neck angle,and relief, action, pickup height,etc.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Thanks guys, Yea, I think Ill just take it to a Tech.
All the adjusting stuff is kinda beyond me Ive been tweakin with it for a while, its just tetious since this is my second guitar but my first good one.

So should I find a actual " guitar tech" or just a guitar store person??
OR same thing??

And what should I say?? That I just need a tune up on my whole strat??

Thanks in advance.

most good stores have at least one tech.

try find a 'fender certified' one if you can. if not look for one with a super good rep. tell him you want a full set-up. neck relief, action, proper bridge raius, adjust teh pick up heights. etc. ask him to set it up to factory specs.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.